The increasing availability and abuse of Southeast Asian (SEA) and
South American (SA) heroin are growing problems, particularly in the
Milwaukee area. Milwaukee is a major destination for heroin in the state
and a transshipment point for various types of heroin destined for other
Wisconsin cities. Nigerian and Dominican heroin transporters primarily use
privately owned vehicles to transport heroin into the state. Commercial
aircraft, buses, and package services are secondary methods. Most retail
heroin sales are dominated by African American and Hispanic street gangs
such as the East Side Mafioso, Mickey Cobras, Vice Lords, Maniac Latin
Disciples, and Latin Kings.

The Mickey Cobras is a Chicago-based African American gang also
known as the Cobrastones. This gang is very mobile, and factions
of the gang are being established throughout the Midwest. The
gang's criminal expertise is in narcotics. It protects its
operations through drive-by shootings and other assaults.

Heroin abuse is increasing in Wisconsin. Although the Wisconsin DNE
reports that few drug units cite heroin as an increasing problem, the
Wisconsin Department of Justice predicts that heroin will become more
prevalent and its availability may expand to new areas throughout the
state. Most heroin abuse is concentrated in the Milwaukee and Racine
areas; however, in a 2000 DNE report, 15 percent of Wisconsin counties
reported heroin as an increasing problem.

Approximately three-fourths of all reported heroin-related deaths in
Wisconsin in 1999 occurred in Milwaukee. A 2000 report by the Milwaukee
County Medical Examiner's office shows a record number of deaths were
attributed to heroin abuse in the county in 2000--a 75 percent increase
from 1999. (See Chart 4.) Heroin deaths continue to
rise in other areas of the state. A Dane County Narcotics Task Force
detective reports that the number of heroin overdose deaths in Dane County
as of September 2000 more than doubled 1999 figures.

Heroin overdoses led to the deaths of eight people in Milwaukee
County during a 2-week period in 2000, according to the Milwaukee
County Medical Examiner's Office.

Heroin purity levels, some measured as high as 95 percent, are higher
than ever before. Higher purity heroin gives users the option of
effectively snorting or smoking the drug rather than injecting--an option
that enhances the appeal to younger users and those who previously may
have been hesitant to use the drug.

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office reports that the 15
people who died of heroin overdoses in the first 8 months of 2000 were
mostly middle-aged, suggesting that they may have been longtime users
conditioned to lower purity heroin.

Rising purity levels have led to an increased demand for heroin, which
in turn has led to an increasing number of heroin users in the state. One
Milwaukee inner-city hospital estimates that approximately one-third of
its pregnant patients test positive for drugs. Of these patients, those
most often testing positive for heroin are Caucasian.

Heroin is becoming more readily available in the Milwaukee and Madison
areas. The Milwaukee HIDTA and the DEA Milwaukee District Office report
that SEA heroin is the prevailing type available, followed by South
American (SA) heroin. Primarily, Nigerian criminal groups distribute
wholesale amounts of SEA heroin, while Dominican criminal groups dominate
the SA heroin trade.

An indication that heroin is more readily available not only in
Milwaukee, but also in the rest of the state, is an increase in seizures
and heroin-related investigations. The Dane County Narcotics Task Force
reports that heroin is increasingly available in its jurisdiction. For
example, nearly 100 "bindles" of heroin were recovered in two
separate drug busts in Madison and Fitchburg. In a 1995 to 1999 comparison
of Wisconsin Task Force drug investigations by drug type, heroin
investigations rose 60 percent. The number of State Crime Laboratory cases
involving heroin increased 130 percent from 1995 to 1998. Most heroin
seized in Milwaukee has been packaged in quantities of 1 gram or less.

White heroin refers to any heroin that is white, off-white,
or tan in color. Many law enforcement agencies do not have the
capability to distinguish the origin of the heroin.

Heroin purity levels are increasing in the Milwaukee area. In 1997, the
Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory tested 39 samples, and most purity levels
were between 20 and 30 percent. Two samples tested at 80 percent purity.
Some samples of white heroin purchased in Milwaukee during Wisconsin DNE
undercover buys in 1999 and 2000 tested at 80 percent purity. Although
lower purity levels were still the norm, more samples tested at 80 percent
or greater in 1999 than in 1997.

Most federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin
cite the violent crime associated with gang-related drug trafficking
activity as the most serious criminal threat to the state. Gangs are the
primary street-level distributors of heroin and other drugs in Wisconsin.
Gang migration from Milwaukee to other areas of the state has increased
the availability of drugs and consequently the associated violent criminal
activity in these areas.

There are no indications of significant increases in crime or violence
related directly to heroin use in Wisconsin. Nonetheless, the highly
addictive nature of heroin forces many users to resort to crime to obtain
the drug. Heroin users often commit theft and burglary and occasionally
engage in prostitution in order to feed their addiction.

Nigerian and Dominican criminal organizations are the primary heroin
transporters in Wisconsin. Nigerian criminal organizations obtain the bulk
of their heroin supply from Chicago and Dominican organizations receive
their supply from New York City. Nigerian criminal organizations are based
in Milwaukee and deal directly with Nigerian and/or Southeast Asian
suppliers as well as with Nigerian sources in Chicago. Nigerian criminal
organizations are the primary source of SEA heroin in Wisconsin. A 1998
multiagency investigation, Operation Global Sea, targeted a Nigerian
heroin smuggling organization that stretched from Asia, to Nigeria, to the
Milwaukee-Chicago area, and throughout the United States. The organization
used couriers, primarily Caucasian females who ingested condoms filled
with heroin, to smuggle the drug into the United States. The organization
also transported heroin in hidden compartments in suitcases and used
commercial airline pilots to smuggle heroin from London, England, to the
United States.

Nigerian criminal organizations have become increasingly sophisticated,
controlling courier networks capable of transporting multiple kilograms of
heroin from Southeast Asia to both U.S. and European distribution markets.
In 1999, the FBI investigated a Nigerian heroin criminal group based in
Fayetteville, Georgia, that used Nigerian and U.S. citizens to smuggle
heroin from Bangkok, Thailand, to Milwaukee and three other U.S. cities.

Dominican and Asian criminal groups are beginning to influence the
Milwaukee heroin market. Dominican criminal groups operating in the
Milwaukee area are bringing in high- purity SA heroin. At the same time,
highly sophisticated Asian criminal groups in the area have expanded their
drug transportation activities. Their connections with other Asian
criminal groups across the United States, Canada, and overseas have
increased the flow of SEA heroin into northern Wisconsin.

Heroin transportation groups use numerous methods to ship heroin into
Wisconsin. Transportation by private vehicles, trucks and, to a lesser
extent, buses is the principal method. The East Side Mafioso uses cars
outfitted with sophisticated traps, as well as buses, rental vehicles, and
trains, to transport heroin from Chicago to Milwaukee. Other
transportation modes used are airlines and mail services. For example, a
DEA-U.S. Customs Service investigation involving undercover heroin buys
revealed an intercepted call to a Chicago telephone number that was used
by a Nigerian criminal group. The phone call instructed a New York-based
courier to transport heroin to Milwaukee through General Mitchell
International Airport. In another instance, a 1999 OCDETF investigation
profiled a heroin trafficking organization that concealed heroin in lotion
bottles and mailed them to Wisconsin.

Nigerian criminal groups control most of the SEA heroin wholesale
operations in Milwaukee. Nigerian wholesalers sell SEA heroin to Wisconsin
street gangs who distribute it at the street level. Nigerian criminal
groups reportedly supply 70 to 90 percent of the SEA heroin available in
Chicago, northwestern Indiana, and southern Wisconsin. One such Nigerian
criminal group distributed white heroin throughout Chicago and in states
bordering Illinois such as Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin in 1999.
Another Nigerian criminal group working in Chicago supplied heroin to
Detroit and Milwaukee. A 1999 Milwaukee HIDTA investigation of a Nigerian
criminal group based in Milwaukee disclosed that the group obtained its
heroin supply from Chicago.

Dominican criminal groups are making inroads into the Milwaukee heroin
market. The Milwaukee HIDTA reports that Dominican distribution groups are
working closely with the prison-based street gang Ņeta, and the
Dominican-Ņeta network is becoming a major heroin supplier in Milwaukee.
A 10-ounce seizure of SA heroin in 1999 may indicate an increase in the
use of this type of heroin and suggests a growing Dominican influence. SA
heroin is typically of high purity and generally is priced lower than
other heroin sold in the area, making it highly marketable.

Dominican heroin retail groups based in New York City often
will send workers to other cities to establish distribution
networks and expand their market base. The parent groups in New
York City manage these outlying networks and supply them with
drugs and labor.

Milwaukee and Chicago-based street gangs primarily are responsible for
street-level heroin distribution. Heroin retail distribution occurs most
frequently in Milwaukee's inner-city areas, although Asian criminal groups
have increased heroin distribution in northern Wisconsin. The East Side
Mafioso is a heroin retail distributor on Milwaukee's East Side. The gang
transports the heroin from Chicago to Milwaukee. The Spanish Cobras gang
retails heroin primarily on the North Side of Milwaukee and obtains its
heroin supply predominantly from Nigerian criminal groups. The Maniac
Latin Disciples gang in Milwaukee is linked to the Chicago Maniac Latin
Disciples and reports to Chicago leaders. Members retail heroin throughout
the city and suburbs and are considered a major drug threat because of
their Chicago connections. Dominican criminal groups are using street
gangs, principally through an association with Ņeta, to retail heroin.
Recent reports indicate, however, that Dominican groups on the South Side
of Milwaukee are using the Latin Kings, La Familia, Spanish Cobras, Maniac
Latin Disciples, and Eastside Mafioso to distribute heroin.

Retail drug distribution takes place in different areas across the
state. Police departments from smaller Wisconsin communities provided
information in March 2000 pertaining to heroin retail areas. The Dane
County Narcotics Task Force reported that heroin distribution occurs
mostly in suburban areas of Madison and that the typical distributor is a
Caucasian male working independently. A Central Area Drug Enforcement
Group detective reported that heroin distribution and abuse are generally
confined to the large Asian population in Wausau. A Racine County Metro
Drug Unit detective reported that Chicago-based, African American gangs
sell heroin predominantly on the South Side of Racine.

Milwaukee police officials indicate that 90 percent of the
heroin they seize is white heroin and that seizures are
predominantly of street-level amounts. Street-level quantities of
heroin take the form of 1/4-, 1/2-, and 1-gram packs.